Adjustable tractor wheel



y 1935. J. R. ORELIND I ADJUSTABLE TRACTOR WHEEL Filed June 15, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inveni'or John R.Or-eli.nol

it crazy.

J Y W35. J. R. ORELIND ADJUSTABLE TRACTOR WHEEL Filed June 15, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 to obtain axial adjustments, within certain lim-i Patented July 9, 1935 1 DJUSTAB E" TRACTOR WHEEL John itforeiinajiutline, n' assignorto Minneg -apolis-Moline*Power Implement Company,

iIhis invention" relates totractor construction,

andtheprimary object is'to provide z meansof a axle and body ofthetractor, whereby said wheel ay e readily moved-longitudinally on the axle its, ,in the spanfor transversespread between the drivetwheels; an

thehuefi inay be disposedrgbeyond the adjustment limits firstjreferred, to. :More specifically,

l the object is to providea tractor wheel withian offset hubiorxreversible engagement; on the axle, andwith the hub partially -splitradiaily, or otherwise tormed to provide flexing action to: permit ittobespreadunder pressure to facilitateremo-valand replacement of :the wheelion the axle. .-'I he,invention f unther centemplates; the use ofdeviees such'as bolts, for rigidly securing; the wheel hubs on the; axles and which devices rnay' also; be employed, when adjustments -.are tobe made, for exerting the-necessary hub opening orrspreading pressure. 4 A further object is 1 to provide, in conjunction .with a hub v structure of the character noted, ;a.tapered key-are rangement having certainadvantages, togbesubsequently setforth. Stillfurther and moredetailed objects will be disclosed in the course of r the following specification, reference beinghad tqtheaccompanying' drawings; wherein: a

V Fig, 1 is 'a vertical'sectionaLelevation through my. improved wheel construetiomshowing it as applied to a tractor; axle, the 'outer extremity of which; axle is; broken away, ,this elevation being taken as on the linell in Fig; 2.;

,Fig. 2' is a plan elevation otthe wheel'hub as on'the1ine 22 in Fig. 1." V I Q Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view, as onthe line FigJl'fis. a sectional detail view'jas on the line I 3%3' in Fig.' 2, butfwith-the, wheel hub in its re-I 45 versedfpo sition on the axle to secure maximum s' f 'ead}betweenthetwojtractor'Wheels Figlj 5 is' an' enlarged detailend elevation of th drive axle and the adjacent hub portion mounted thereon, this view illustrating the ta T pered" key construction and certain" clearances,

which clearances are slightly exaggerated for purpose of illustration.

Figs. 1 andi3;;illustrate the: arra geme t of the hub on the axle to'teffect the'minimum wheel" span. In someins'tances andfor ,certain types 7 or i hz un in iil al e a mit of the wheel hub'tobereyersed, end for end,

ants-i1 1 ,IOFFECE" 1 Hopkins, Minn., -a corporation of Delaware ppjlication June 15, 1934, erial No. 730,780 4;o1aim (o1. 237 52.03) j of ,workyit may bejdesirable to secure one or a, pair of tractorwheels-in anoutward position and the other in closer'proximity to the tractor body; Ordinarily, however, both wheels are adjusted in a similar manner-at the respective sides of the tractor, and the purpose'of such adjustment is to effect cooperation with implements such as cultivators, planters, plows, etc carried layer pushedor pulled by the tractor, andto give 7 proper clearance-for crop rows, which often vary inispacing, so that the wheels will not traverseeither the, crop growth or the implement path of'travel. r a To these ends the tractor structure proper may be of any conventional structure, as far as the pre'sentinvention is concerned, and is-here only represented by a portion of the axle housing 5, through and from which the drive axle 6 extends, it. being understood that the structure illustratedis the same atboth sides of the machine: j 1 x V The wheel structure includes a rim 7, spokes 8, of conventionalconstruction, and a hub unit, designated generallyuby the'numeral 9. The hub unit includes anpouter plate portion I, having alternate-inner and outer offset portions to which the innerends of the spokes 8 are attached, as at l l irmer platef portions l2, substantially crescent shaped, in, "form; and a cooperating pair of bearing segments or blocks 13. The parts l9, l2-,fand 13 are integrally connected so as to form arelativeLv rigid, one piece. unit, and the ends of'the'segme'nts l3 opposite the plate portions l2 are further united with the'plate portions by in tegral bracing webs or-flangesql l, arranged in pairsas'shownin Fig. 2. Y

The segments i3 are designed to snugly receive the aXIe G'a-ndare splined to the axle :for sliding but non-rotative movement thereon, the splining, in this'instance, comprising feather keys l5 projecting inwardly from the segments it for en gagement in keyways it of the axle. It will be noted that the segments l5 have op posed axle engaging'angular shoulders l5a that are spaced from eachother, as shown in Figs. 2' and 5, and that radially outwardly of such spaces the-hub unit is-provided with diametrically opposed openings ll. Therpurpose of these spaces andopeningsis to impartto the axle engaging segmentsa slight degreeuof flexibility, and this flexibility is utilized both in clamping the hub unit to and releasing it from the axle.

To the end thatthe hub unit, and thereby the wheel as a ,whole, -rnay. be rendered rigid with respect to the axle, I provide the segment blocks l3 with two pairs of aligned holes [8 to receive a set of clamping bolts l9, which when their nuts 20 are tightened will produce the desired clamping action.

When the wheel is to be axially adjusted or its position reversed on the axle, the bolts must of course be loosened, but merely loosening the bolts is frequently found to be insufficient to release the hub unit so that adjustments or reversal can be accomplished. And to the end that stuck or frozen wheels may be more quickly released I provide one of the segment blocks [3 with a tapped or threaded hole 2| (Fig. 3) to receive a bolt I9 (Fig. 4) which bolt may be a special bolt for that purpose or may be one of the clamping bolts l9 merely removed and utilized until the adjustment has been made.

The tapped hole 2|, is most efficiently located between the pair of bolt holes H3, at one side of the axle, and preferably there is one hole 2| at each side of the axle. In axial alignment with the tapped hole 2| the opposite segment block I3 is provided with an abutment lug 22, and where two tapped holes are provided in one segment block, then the opposite block will have two lugs 22, as shown in Figs. 1 and2.

Attention is now directed particularly to Fig. 5, wherein I have illustrated, in enlarged detail, certain features of important consideration in the invention. Here it will be seen that the keys l5 and keyways l6 are tapered toward the center of the axle 6 and that clearances 23 and 24 are provided so that the side faces of the keys l5 will contact with the side walls of the keyways l6 before said clearances can be closed but not before the segment shoulders I5a contact with the axle. The wedging action resulting from this construction provides for maximum efficiency in the clamping pressure when the latter is applied. The arrangement also permits of a positive release of the hub from the axle when the segment spreading pressure is applied, for immediately this is done all lateral frictional resistance of the keys inthe axle is removed. This would not be the case for instance if the keys and ways were rectangular in cross section, for then the lateral resistance would remain unless and until the keys were entirely removed from the keyways. The most efficient and desirable degree of taper for the keys is that wherein the contacting faces are disposed in radial planes as indicated by dotted line 25, as it sufiiciently facilitates release of the keys under the provided segment spreading action, and also precludes the driving torque of the axle from acting on the sides of the keys with a spreading action when the wheel is in use.

When the wheel is to be axially adjusted or reversed on the axle the axle housing 5 is first jacked up to provide ground clearance under the wheel rim. The bolts l9 are then loosened to release their clamping action with respect to the axle. To further and more positively release the wheel hub it is then necessary to insert bolts in the holes 2| and by forcing them into contact with the lugs 22 the hub segments l3 will be spread apart to produce the desired clearance as between axle and segments. When the desired adjustment has been secured the spreading pressure is released, the clamping bolts are retightened, and the wheel is again grounded, ready for use in its adjusted or reversed position.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A hub structure for a wheel comprising a one piece member having in combination, an outer annular plate portion, inner plate portions extending inwardly from the outer portions and separated by a diametrical division,a pair of axle receiving segment blocks extending laterally from the inner plate portions, said inner plate portions transmitting annular torque pressure of the axle and segment blocks to the outer plate portion but having sufficient resiliency in a direction other than in the plane of torque action to permit opening and closing action of the segment blocks upon application of pressure thereto, bracing webs integrally connecting the segment blocks with-the outer annular plate portion and disposed at substantially right anglesto the direction of segment block adjustment-movement so as to effectively brace said blocks with respect to the annular plate portion and without substantially interfering with the adjustment resiliency of the inner plate portions, and means for applying adjustment pressure to the segment blocks.

2. A hub structure for a spoked wheel comprisinga one piece member'having in combination, an outer annular plate portion formed with alternate inner and outer offsets to which the wheel spokes are attached, inner plate portions extending inwardly from the outer portions and separated by a diametrical division, 8. pair of axle receiving segment blocks extending laterally from the inner plate portions, said inner plate portions transmitting annular torque pressure of the axle and segment blocks to the outer plate portion but having suflicient resiliency in a direc tion other than in the plane of torque action to permit opening and closing action of the seg ment blocks upon application of pressure thereto, bracing webs integrally connecting the segment blocks with the outer annular plate portion and disposed at substantially right angles to the direction of segment block adjustment movement so as to effectively brace said blocks with respect to the annular plate portion and without substantially interfering with the adjustment renliency of the inner plate portions, and means for applying adjustment pressure to the segment blocks.

3. A traction wheel mounting for tractors comprising an axle having a keyway adjacent its outer end, a wheel having a hub to receive said axle end, said hub having opposed axle engaging segments that are connected through other portions of the hub so as to be substantially rigid therewith but having, through the resiliency in the material of such other portions, freedom for slight relative flexing movement radially, means for clamping the segments upon the axle, said hub having a key disposed for radial movement in the axle keyway when the segments are clamped upon the axle, said key and keyway be ing tapered in cross section and the key having a cross sectional area greater than the adjacent cross section of the keyway so that the sides of the key and keyway will have wedging contact before the inner face of the key can contact with the bottom of the keyway.

4. A wheel mounting for a tractor comprising a. power driven axle, a projecting end of which is provided with a longitudinally disposed,

radially tapered keyway, a hub for the tractor wheel having a pair of opposed segments for radially adjustable, clamping engagement over the axle end, one of said segments having a key,

for engagement in the keyway, said key being radially tapered to correspond with the taper of the keyway but slightly wider than the key- Way so that it will contact the side walls thereof before other adjacent portions of such seg- 10 ment engage adjacent axle surfaces when the segments are clamped upon the axle, and said segments having arcuate axle engaging surfaces the curvatures of which are defined. by radii shorter than the radius of the shaft whereby the ends of the segments, when clamped upon the axle,- will initially contact with and grip the axle JOHN R. ORELIND. 1o 

